Valentine Party
Write the first paragraph of your page here. Synopsis Section heading Excerpt Chapter 1 "All right! I love Valentine's Day!" Sophie grinned. Her teacher, Mrs. Carmichel, had just announced that their class Valentine's Day party would be held right after school in one week, next Friday. Mrs. Carmichael smiled. "That's wonderful, Sophie, because it's your turn to have a parent host the party." "It is?" Sophie blinked. "Oh, great," Alexa Carter muttered. She sat at the desk beside Sophie. Her expression was always sour and she was usually nasty to everyone. Sophie decided to ignore her. "You can count on me, Mrs. Carmichael!" Sophie said. She hoped her dad would host the party, but if not, she was sure someone else in her big family would volunteer. "Excellent, Sophie." Mrs. Carmichael held up a hand when the bell rang. Everyone was eager to leave for the weekend, but all the kids stayed seated. "Dont forget to bring your donations for the Valentine's Day party by Tuesday." Sophie nodded. Everyone always contributed to pay for refreshments and supplies for class parties. "Class dismissed," Mrs. Carmichael said just as the bell rang. Sophie jumped out of her seat and ran to her cubby to get her backpack. Gia Metz, her best friends, rushed over to her. "Wow! This is so cool, Sophie!" Gia cheered. "I can't wait for your Valentine's Day party." Gia beamed as she slipped her arms into the straps on her backpack. "Not that it's going to be much of a party," a voice said loudly from behind them. Sophie turned and glared at Alexa. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked. "It means your party gonna bomb," Rachel said. "So it's going to suck." Alexa Carter was the snootiest girl in the seventh grade. I'm not going to let her know how much that hurt! Sophie decided. Even though it does. "She's jealous because I've got three adults who's back me up," Michelle said. "One of them will be glad to host the party." Sophie has three adults in her life. There's her mother, Jenny; her father, Troy; and her favorite (and only) Aunt Megan. There was a twist: Her mother and Aunt Megan were identical twins. Aunt Megan was the elder twin, but often act as immature as Sophie. "That's why I'm not expecting anything fabulous," Rachel sighed. "None of those people can do anything half as good as a mom can. Everyone said my mom's Christmas party was the best ever!" Michelle fumed. The Christmas party had been great. But that didn't mean her Valentine's Day party wouldn't be great, too! "We'll be lucky to get grocery-store cookies and canned punch at Michelle's party," Rachel sneered. Mandy's eyes flashed. "No way, Rachel. Michelle will have an awesome party, with all kinds of neat stuff." "Yeah!" Cassie's blond ponytail bobbed as she nodded. "No matter which person Michelle gets to host it. Right, Michelle?" "Absolutely!" Michelle crossed her arms and met Rachel's gaze. "We'll see." Rachel flipped her long, dark hair over one shoulder and walked away. "Don't worry, Michelle," Cassie said. "You'll show her." Michelle frowned. I had better show her! she thought. If the party is a flop, Rachel will tease me about it all the way through high school! The three friends walked toward the exit. After Cassie and Mandy said good-bye, Michelle ran home. She was eager to ask her dad about hosting the party. Jenny hosted a morning TV show called Good Morning, Los Angeles. Since Jenny went to work earlier than most people, she got home earlier, too. Especially on Fridays. Sophie hoped she'd be able to talk to her father right away. Michelle burst through her front door. "Hey!" Joey Gladstone almost dropped a stack of clean towels as Michelle flew in the door. She whizzed past him. What's the rush?" Joey asked. "I have to talk to Dad about something really important." Michelle paused halfway up the stairs. "Is he home yet? "Not yet." Joey started up the stairs after her. "I'm here if you need me." "Thanks. I'll let you know!" Michelle raced to the second floor and into the bedroom she shared with Stephanie. She tossed her backpack on her bed and changed into her old sneakers. Then she ran back downstairs to wait for her father. The doorbell rang ten minutes later. Finally! Michelle felt as if she had been waiting for hours! She threw open the door, expecting to see Danny with his arms full of groceries or stuff from work, but instead she found the paperboy. "Oh. It's just you." Michelle"s shoulders sagged. "Yep. It's just me." The older boy smiled. "Collecting again." "Oh, yeah. I'll go get -- " Michelle's face lit up when she saw Danny coming up the front walk. "Dad! It's about time!" "Hi, Michelle." Danny winked at Michelle, then turned to the paperboy. "Is it collection time again?" He hesitated. "I'm sorry. I don't remember your name." "It's Kevin, Mr. Tanner. Kevin Logan." "Kevin." Danny nodded and pulled his wallet out of his suit coat. "Three dollars and fifty cents, right?" "Yes, sir. That's right." Kevin took off his baseball cap and smoothed back his brown hair. Hurry up! Michelle thought. She tapped her foot. "There you go." Danny handed Kevin a five-dollar bill. "Keep the change." "Thanks, Mr. Tanner!" Kevin flipped his cap back on and pocketed the money. Then he jumped off the porch and picked up his bike. "Bye, Michelle!" "What a nice kid." Danny waved as Kevin rode away. "Dad!" Michelle tugged on Danny's coat sleeve. "I have to tell you about something. It's really serious!" "Then I guess we'd better talk." Danny followed Michelle into the house, and glanced at his watch. "Uh-oh." "Uh-oh?" Michelle tensed. "What uh-oh?" "I'm sorry, Michelle," Danny said, "but I have to make an important phone call. I'll be just a few minutes. Promise." "But -- " Michelle threw up her hands as Danny hurried into the kitchen. She didn't want anything else to distract him after his phone call. She sat at the kitchen table so she could catch him as soon as he hung up. "Hello, Ms. Stuart," Michelle heard her father say. "This is Danny Tanner from Wake Up, San Francisco." Danny nodded. "Yes, uh-huh. So you talked to our producer?" Michelle glanced at the kitchen clock. She had never realized how slowly the second hand moved. "That's right. We're taping a remote Valentine's Day segment and your sidewalk cafe is the perfect location." Danny laughed. "That's great! I'll see you with my crew at three-thirty next Friday afternoon!" Three-thirty next Friday! Michelle gasped. The class party was from three to four next Friday! Her dad couldn't be on location and at her school at the same time! Danny hung up and walked over to Michelle. "Okay, honey. I'm all yours. Now, what's on your mind?" "Uh -- " Michelle stared at Danny. He would have to do the Valentine taping for his TV show no matter what, she knew. It was his job. Michelle also knew her father would feel awful if he had to turn down hosting her class party. She didn't want him to feel bad, so maybe -- maybe it wasn't worth telling him about the party at all. "Umm -- nothing," she said. "Nothing?" Danny frowned, puzzled. "It sure didn't seem like nothing a minute ago." No, I -- I had this problem, but I just figured out how to solve it for myself!" Michelle covered. "Thanks, Dad!" "Sure, Michelle. Anytime." Danny scratched his head. He looked totally confused. Michelle bolted from the kitchen. She hadn't really lied. She had just figured out that she needed to ask someone else to host her class party. Joey! Michelle climbed the stairs two at a time. What about Joey? she thought. He was a very fumy comedian who could always make her laugh with his weird voices and jokes. He knew a lot of cool games, too. Maybe he'd even wear a clown costume! She could help him shop for the refreshments and party favors. Joey had just finished putting the towels away and straightening the linen closet. Michelle paused to catch her breath. "Hey, Michelle." Joey shut the closet door and gave her his full attention. "What's up?" Michelle hesitated. After what had just happened with her father, she decided to take a different approach. Just in case. "Are you doing anything special next Friday afternoon?" "As a matter of fact, I am," Joey said. "You are?" Michelle struggled to hide her disappointment. "Yep. Your uncle Jesse's band is playing at a big Valentine's Day dance downtown Friday night and I'm going to be the emcee." He paused. "Neat, huh?" he asked in his hip-dude voice. Michelle nodded. "But," Joey continued, "we have to get all our stuff set up by four o'clock Friday afternoon. So we don't disrupt the fancy dinner that takes place before the dance starts." "So Uncle Jesse's busy, too?" Michelle asked. "Yep." Joey frowned. "Why?" "Oh, no reason." Michelle forced a smile. "Come on, Michelle." Joey raised an eyebrow. "You must have a reason for asking." "Well, yeah." Michelle told him about needing someone to host her class Valentine's Day party. "Dad can't do it because he has a taping for Wake Up, San Francisco. And now you and Uncle Jesse have to set up the band equipment." "Wow, Michelle, I'm really sorry." Joey sighed. "That's okay," Michelle told him. It wasn't his fault he had other plans. "Besides, I bet Aunt Becky would love to do it!" Joey sighed again. "I bet she would, too, except that Becky is in charge of the twins' preschool Valentine's Day party next Friday afternoon." "Is the twins' party from three to four?" Michelle hoped it was earlier. She crossed her fingers for luck, but it didn't do any good. "I'm afraid so." Joey shrugged. Now what? Michelle wondered. All the adults in the house were busy! "D.J.!" Michelle grinned as her oldest sister came down the hall with her arms full of books. D.J. was nineteen and in college. That was practically grown-up. Grown-up enough to handle a fourth-grade party, anyway. "Hi, Joey. Hi, Michelle." D.J. smiled as she walked past them. Michelle followed her sister into her bedroom. "Can I talk to you a minute, D.J.?" "Sure." D.J. dropped her books and shoulder bag on the desk, then sat down on her desk chair. She leaned forward attentively. "What's up?" "I have a problem," Michelle began. She perched on the edge of the bed and quickly explained about the party. "Can you do it, D.J.? Can you organize the party? It's only for an hour after school, and I'll help with everything." "Sure. It might be fun." D.J. checked her calendar. "As long as it's not next Friday. I've got an incredibly important zoology exam at three o'clock, and I can't miss it." Michelle just stared. She couldn't believe it! Everyone had plans for next Friday afternoon that couldn't be changed. Even D.J.! There wasn't anyone left to ask. What am I going to do? Michelle wondered. Copyright © and ™ 2000 by Warner Bros.